Against Physicalism, Annihilationism, and Conditionalism

By James D. Quiggle

A new pseudo-Christian belief, Evangelical Conditionalism has embraced Physicalism and Annihilationism to create a doctrine antithetical to historic, orthodox, scriptural Christianity.

This book draws the doctrine of Evangelical Conditionalism from an official source and examines it against the Scripture. Of special consideration is the impact Physicalism has on Christology, and Annihilationism has on eschatology.

• Language: English
• Publisher: James D. Quiggle
• Release date: Mar 16, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224436149

James D. Quiggle

James D. Quiggle was born in 1952 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He grew up in Kansas and the Texas Panhandle. In the early 1970s he joined the United States Air Force. At his first permanent assignment in Indian Springs, Nevada in a small Baptist church, the pastor introduced him to Jesus and soon after he was saved. Over the next ten years those he met in churches from the East Coast to the West Coast, mature Christian men, poured themselves into mentoring him. In the 1970s he was gifted with the Scofield Bible Course from Moody Bible Institute. As he completed his studies his spiritual gift of teaching became even more apparent. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Bethany Bible College during the 1980s while still in the Air Force. Between 2006–2008, after his career in the Air Force and with his children grown up, he decided to continue his education. He enrolled in Bethany Divinity College and Seminary and earned a Master of Arts in Religion and a Master of Theological Studies.As an extension of his spiritual gift of teaching, he was prompted by the Holy Spirit to begin writing books. James Quiggle is now a Christian author with over fifty commentaries on Bible books and doctrines. He is an editor for the Evangelical Dispensational Quarterly Journal published by Scofield Biblical Institute and Theological Seminary.He continues to write and has a vibrant teaching ministry through social media.

Book preview

Against Physicalism,

Annihilationism,

and Conditionalism

BOOKS BY JAMES D. QUIGGLE

DOCTRINAL SERIES

Biblical History

Adam and Eve, a Biography and Theology

Angelology, a True History of Angels

Essays

Biblical Essays

Biblical Essays II

Biblical Essays III

Biblical Essays IV

Marriage and Family

Marriage and Family: A Biblical Perspective

Biblical Homosexuality

A Biblical Response to Same-gender Marriage

Doctrinal and Practical Christianity

First Steps, Becoming a Follower of Jesus Christ

A Christian Catechism (with Christopher McCuin)

Why and How to do Bible Study

Thirty-Six Essentials of the Christian Faith

The Literal Hermeneutic, Explained and Illustrated

The Old Ten In the New Covenant

Christian Living and Doctrine

Spiritual Gifts

Why Christians Should Not Tithe

Dispensational Theology

A Primer On Dispensationalism

Understanding Dispensational Theology

Covenants and Dispensations in the Scripture

Dispensational Soteriology

Dispensational Eschatology, An Explanation and Defense of the Doctrine

Rapture: A Bible Study on the Rapture of the New Testament Church

Antichrist, His Genealogy, Kingdom, and Religion

God and Man

God’s Choices, Doctrines of Foreordination, Election, Predestination

God Became Incarnate

Life, Death, Eternity

Did Jesus Go To Hell?

Against Physicalism, Annihilationism, and Conditionalism

Small Group Bible Studies

Elementary Bible Principles (with Linda M. Quiggle)

Counted Worthy (with Linda M. Quiggle)

COMMENTARY SERIES

The Old Testament

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Judges

A Private Commentary on the Book of Ruth

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Esther

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Song of Solomon

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Daniel

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Jonah

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Habakkuk

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Haggai

The New Testament

James Quiggle Translation New Testament (JQTNT)

The Gospels and Acts

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Matthew’s Gospel

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Mark’s Gospel

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Luke 1–12

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Luke 13–24

A Private Commentary on the Bible: John 1–12

A Private Commentary on the Bible: John 13–21

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Acts 1–14

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Acts 15–28

Other Works On the Gospels

Four Voices, One Testimony (a Gospel Harmony)

Jesus Said I Am

The Parables and Miracles of Jesus Christ

The Passion and Resurrection of Jesus the Christ

The Christmas Story, As Told By God

Christmas Card Theology and the Bible

Pauline Letters

A Private Commentary on the Bible: 1 Corinthians

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Galatians

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Ephesians

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Philippians

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Colossians

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Thessalonians

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Pastoral Letters

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Philemon

General Letters

A Private Commentary on the Book of Hebrews

A Private Commentary on the Bible: James

A Private Commentary on the Bible: 1 Peter

A Private Commentary on the Bible: 2 Peter

A Private Commentary on the Bible: John’s Epistles

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Jude

Revelation

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Revelation 1–7

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Revelation 8–16

A Private Commentary on the Bible: Revelation 17–22

REFERENCE SERIES

James Quiggle Translation New Testament (JQT)

Dictionary of Doctrinal Words

Old and New Testament Chronology (With David Hollingsworth)

(Also in individual volumes: Old Testament Chronology; New Testament Chronology)

TRACTS

A Human Person: Is the Unborn Life a Person?

Biblical Marriage

How Can I Know I am A Christian?

Now That I am A Christian

Thirty-Six Essentials of the Christian Faith

What is a Pastor? / Why is My Pastor Eating the Sheep?

Principles and Precepts of the Literal Hermeneutic

(All tracts are in digital format and cost $0.99)

Formats

Print, Digital, Epub, PDF. Search James D. Quiggle or book title.

Against Physicalism,

Annihilationism,

and Conditionalism

Copyright Page

Against Physicalism, Annihilationism, and Conditionalism, copyright 2024, James D. Quiggle.

New Testament scripture quotations are from James Quiggle Translation New Testament, copyright 2023, James D. Quiggle.

Old Testament scripture quotations are the author’s translation.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Christ Between Death and Resurrection

The Endless Conscious Suffering of the Unsaved

Conclusion

Sources

Introduction

In the past decade or so, Physicalism and Annihilationism received a revival by a pseudo-Christian group that wants to be known as Evangelical Conditionalists. They self-identify as Evangelical because they believe they proclaim the gospel. They name themselves Conditionalists because their doctrine is immortality is conditional from birth to death, to be confirmed for some and denied to others after resurrection. Perhaps more simply, in the heresy that is Conditionalism, salvation is receiving immortality after resurrection.

Physicalism is the ancient doctrine that life is biological only, merely material, only physical, no immaterial or spiritual component at all. In Physicalism the person’s existence ends at physical death. Annihilationism is the doctrine God punishes the unsaved with endless non-existence.

Evangelical Conditionalism has embraced Physicalism and Annihilationism to create a doctrine that all persons are born with conditional immortality; that all persons cease to exist at physical death; that all persons are brought back into existence by resurrection; that some resurrected receive immortality, which in the doctrines of Conditionalism is salvation; that some resurrected are not given immortality (not saved) and after a brief period of punishment are annihilated: made endlessly non-existent.

There are variations, as in all religious beliefs, but the description above incorporates the basic doctrines of Evangelical Conditionalism. There is no doctrine of sin, salvation is immortality after resurrection, and Jesus Christ was God who literally stopped being deity and became human.

The Evangelical Conditionalists have a web site, Rethinking Hell. Like many pseudo-Christian groups much is said but little is of substance. Finding answers about their doctrines proved to be difficult. But some things were clear.

Conditionalists are not a unified group. Some believe human beings do not have a soul. Therefore, Jesus Christ did not have a soul.

Other Conditionalists believe human beings do have a soul but the soul ceases to exist after physical death, until brought back into existence at resurrection. The inevitable corollary is Jesus the Christ ceased to exist between his physical death and resurrection.

Other Conditionalists believe God the Son literally became a human being in the incarnation—God ceasing to be deity—but retained some of his deity powers.

Do not be deceived by this pseudo-Christian group. Scripture says they are not Evangelical, that salvation is during this mortal life, that the only condition for salvation is faith during this mortal life, and all human souls are naturally immortal at conception, having been created with the spirit essence life from the beginning, Genesis 2:7.

Let us begin.

Christ Between Death and Resurrection

Introduction

Was the person Jesus the Christ living, conscious, and active between his physical death and the resurrection of his physical body? The first purpose of this chapter is to demonstrate Jesus the Christ was living, conscious, and active during the time his physical body lay dead in the grave.

The doctrine of some Conditionalists is the non-existence of persons between physical death and resurrection. The doctrine of some Conditionalists is the human soul is unconscious and inactive (the doctrine of soul sleep) between physical death and resurrection.

The second purpose of this chapter is (1) to demonstrate from Scripture never teaches the non-existence of any angel or any human being at any time after their personal existence begins, and (2) demonstrate from Scripture all human souls are conscious and active between physical death and resurrection.

The doctrine of all Conditionalists is all unsaved souls, after final judgment (Revelation 20:11–15), will suffer for an undetermined period of time in the lake of fire and after will be annihilated by the lake of fire into a permanent state of non-existence. Chapter 2 will demonstrate from Scripture all human beings cast in the lake of fire continue endlessly in the lake of fire.

Defense and Proof

To demonstrate the doctrines of Evangelical Conditionalism do not agree with the teaching of Scripture as a whole, will require an in depth exploration of many diverse Christian and Evangelical Conditionalists’ doctrines concerning the nature of human beings, sin, salvation, the incarnation, the everlasting nature of the Lake of Fire, and other related doctrines. I ask for the reader’s patience and focus. T

The Conditionalists’ heresy, despite its claim to be Evangelical, is opposed to orthodox Christianity, as historically defined by the Scripture and the New Testament church. The Evangelical Conditionalists deny essential doctrines of the faith.

What is an essential doctrine of the faith? [Quiggle, Thirty-six, 3].

An essential doctrine of the Christian faith is a fundamental truth drawn solely from the sixty-six canonical books of Scripture, the denial or absence of which does not conform to the biblical and apostolic Christian faith as it is expressed and defined by the Scripture.

A simpler definition for popular use: A doctrine of Scripture which, when missing or denied, Christianity ceases to be the Christianity defined and exampled in the Scripture.

The essential beliefs of the Christian faith are those which are the sine qua non (literally, without which nothing), that if missing or denied Christianity ceases to be genuine biblical apostolic Christianity.

To hold some essential doctrines, as the Conditionalists claim to do, but not hold all essential doctrines, is to fail the test of orthodox Christianity.

The doctrines of the Conditionalist-Physicalist-Dualists-Annihilationists (see below) includes the beliefs that life is material only, that God stopped being God in the incarnation, that the Christ ceased to exist between his death and resurrection, that the consequence of rejecting God and God’s salvation is annihilation, and other critical essential doctrines of the faith having to do with sin, the Savior, and salvation, define Evangelical-Conditionalism as heretical and cultic.

Heresy. A deliberate denial of truth as revealed in the Scripture, development of an alternative belief, and teaching that alternative belief as though it was Scripture.

Heretic. A person using heresy to establish a sect or religion in competition with Christianity, within or without the professing church.

Cult. A religious organization calling itself Christian, whose doctrines differ significantly from historic orthodox biblical Christianity, as Christianity has been defined by the apostolic testimony in the New Testament Scripture, and in church councils, ca. AD 100–500, in those canons that conform to the apostolic testimony contained in the New Testament Scripture.

Necessary definitions. In this chapter, the word eternal is used of God as an increate being, thus without beginning or ending: eternal. The word eternal is also used of the kind of life God imparts to the saved, which is a quality of life in which God shares the communicable aspects of his life with the saved, in a degree suitable to finite beings.

The word immortal refers to the endless duration of human life: the human soul is naturally immortal once conceived; the human body will be resurrected immortal.

The word endless refers to a condition that once begun never ends. The human soul, once brought into existence by the processes of conception, is endlessly immortal. The human body, saved or unsaved, after resurrection (or rapture, 1 Corinthians 15:51–52; 1 Thessalonians 4:17), is endlessly immortal.

The punishment of the unsaved in the lake of fire is not eternal, because it has a beginning, but it is endless because it has no end. Annihilationism is not a Christian doctrine.

Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF), Chapter 33, Of the Last Judgment, paragraph 2, but the wicked, who know not God, and obey not the gospel of Jesus Christ, shall be cast into eternal torments, and be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; Mat 25:41, 46; 2 Thes 1:9.

To the